A total of 143.5 lost workdays of all staff injury cases were recorded by the end of 2011. The comparison of lost workdays over the past 10 years is shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2. Comparison of Lost Workdays

Year

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Total Number of Lost Workdays

190

382.5

123.5

278

430

86

140

473

382

143.5

Average Lost Workday Per Accident

7.5

16.6

4.1

7.9

17.2

4.8

6.4

17.5

10.9

7.6

The severity of individual cases is analyzed and represented by the number of lost workdays as shown in Table 3. In all the 19 staff work-related injury cases, 2 cases did not incur any lost workdays, 8 cases incurred 3 or fewer lost workdays and 9 cases incurred more than 3 lost workdays. The largest number of lost workdays in one single case was 49 days.

Table 3. HKUST Staff Work Accident in 2011 by Department

Department

No. of Accidents

Total

LWD=0

0

LWD>3

CBME

1

1

FMO

6

2

4

ITSC

1

1

LANG

1

1

LIFS

1

1

PHYS

1

1

SAO

8

3

5

Total

19

2

8

9

LWD = Lost Workday(s)

Cause of Work/Study-Related Injuries

Figure 1 summarizes the causes for all work/study-related injuries in 2011.

"Sharp objects" had become the top cause for work/study-related injuries in 2011, with 6 cases in total. Among the 6 student injury cases, 4 of them were caused by sharp objects.

Figure 1. HKUST Cause of Work/Study-Related Accidents in 2011

Locations of Accidents

Among the 25 staff and students injury cases:

8 occurred in laboratories

6 occurred in common areas

6 occurred in staff/student quarters

2 occurred in workshops/plant rooms

1 occurred in office area

1 occurred in sports area

1 occurred in classroom

Common Root Causes of Accidents

Besides classifying causes of injuries in terms of physical sources and energies involved, investigation of the injury cases also revealed some common underlying root causes. These root causes are summarized in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Common Root Causes of Accidents

Non-injury Incidents

A total of 10 non-injury incidents were reported in 2011, 8 of which occurred in laboratories and 2 occurred in the staff quarters. The incidents are summarized below by their nature:

Chemical spill – 4 cases

Fire – 3 cases

Unexpected chemical reaction – 1 case

Smell complaint – 1 case

Falling object – 1 case

Staff members were involved in 7 of the incidents while students were involved in 2 of the cases.

Summary of Significant Findings

Both the numbers of staff and student injury cases had decreased. The number of staff cases was the second lowest in the past ten years, decreasing from 35 cases in 2009 to 19 cases in 2011. Student cases had decreased from 8 cases in 2010 to 6 cases in 2011.

The number of lost workdays in 2011 was 143.5 days, more than 60% less than that (382 days) of 2010. The largest number of lost workdays in one single case was 49 days in 2011 as compared with more than 200 days in 2010

"Sharp objects" had become the top cause for injuries (6 cases), with "Manual Handling" and "Slips/trips" as runner-up causes (both with 5 cases each). These 3 causes had contributed to over 64% of all work and study-related accidents.

In analysing the underlying root causes of the accidents, about 44% (11 cases) of the causes were attributed to "Inadequate knowledge or skill" and 20% (5 cases) were attributed to "Unsafe practice or Improper Procedure", indicating that continuous efforts in safety training and risk assessment are needed.